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Latest News Links News - BBC to broadcast two documentaries on Olympic Classes sailing . . . News - 220 new Lasers arrive at HISC for Laser Worlds . . . News - Louis Vuitton Event at Royal Hong Kong YC Cancelled . . . News - Olympic sailing police to get Cruise Ship . . . News - Aussie whinging about Olympic venue costs dismissed . . . News - Team Origin in new partnership with Jaguar at Cowes . . . News - Cowes Radio celebrates 25 years at Cowes Week . . . News - Wind turbine blown down at Weymouth Sailing academy . . . News - Weymouth is Full for the Summer . . . News - New limited edition Laser problem for Race Teams . . . News - New J Class to compete at 2012 Solent regatta . . . News - Draycote bring in the Professionals to control racing . . . Back to latest Sailing News reports here . . . BBC to broadcast two documentaries on Olympic Classes sailing . . . The BBC is set to broadcast two documentaries on Olympic Classes sailing, produced by Sunset+Vine|APP in association with BBC Sport. Part 1 of “Olympic Sailing” will air this Saturday, 21 August at 13:00 on BBC 1. It tells the story of Britain’s medal winners at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta where nearly 1000 sailors from 57 nations competed at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the venue for the sailing competition for the London 2012 Games. The documentary will follow the highs and lows of this international competition that includes Britain’s Beijing gold medalliists Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and Sarah Ayton plus a host of medallists from the 2008 Games, as they compete on home waters exactly two years ahead of the London 2012 sailing competition. The second documentary will be broadcast on Sunday 5 September at 14:00 on BBC 2, “Olympic Sailing” (Part 2) will come from Hayling Island on the final day of the Laser World Championships where Beijing gold medallist Paul Goodison is out to defend his title. The programme will also include features on the man to break Ben Ainslie’s six-year winning record in the Olympic Finn class, 23 year-old British sailor Giles Scott, and on perhaps the happiest medal winner of all at the last Games – Britain’s Britain's Bryony Shaw who windsurfed to bronze in China. 220 new Lasers arrive at HISC for Laser Worlds . . . Hayling Island SC is preparing for the Laser World Championships with the arrival on of 220 brand new Lasers this week. Unloading is taking place over the next days and the pre-event charter period for the Worlds will start from Thursday 19 August.  Around 300 competitors are expected to start arriving over the next week for the senior and junior events to begin training out on the race courses in Hayling Bay. The racing for the event starts on Sunday 29 August with the official practice races for the main Standard Laser World events. Racing then follows with two races per day, starting at 13:00 hrs. There are nine GBR entries in the Senior event, including the reigning World and Olympic Champion Paul Goodison and 26 GBR entries in the Junior event. HISC members Mark Powell and Stuart and Robert Godwin have qualified for the Senior event.  The standard Laser being an Olympic class, the World Championship has attracted many top Olympic competitors from the recent Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth. It is an important step on the qualification programme for competitors to the 2012 Games and competition will be of the highest quality, well worth watching. - GN Louis Vuitton Event at Royal Hong Kong YC Cancelled . . . The World Sailing Teams Association, Louis Vuitton and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club have announced that preparations for the proposed “Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong” will no longer continue. The world-class sailing event involving America’s Cup Class boats and racing teams was scheduled to be held on Victoria Harbour in January 2011. However, it has become clear that many of the teams involved will now be focusing their resources on their preparations for the next America’s Cup. A draft Protocol, which defines the terms for the 34th America’s Cup, was released in recent weeks and includes between five and seven events in each of 2011 an 2012. This has made the Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong schedule unfeasible to maintain for some of the competing teams. Olympic sailing police to get Cruise Ship . . . A Cruise ship is being considered to house police drafted in to protect participants in the sailing events at the 2012 Olympic Games according to proposels being discussed by organisers. Organisers are reported to be discussing plans to spend up to £6.6m mooring a private vessel at Portland Harbour for the event, but are split over the proposal because they fear a public backlash against the use of a holiday vessel. The 432-room vessel could be filled by around 800 officers working over 67 policing days to protect the 460 competitors from 61 nations in the Weymouth sailing events for the Olympics and Paralympics, to be spread over 35 square miles. Aussie whinging about Olympic venue costs dismissed . . . In an about turn to the usual put-down for British ex-pats as "whinging poms" it seems that the Aussie media is whinging* about the cost of using the the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) where the Olympic sailing events will be held in 2012. "The Australian" newspaper ran a headline - Sailors swamped by rising fees - which was also picked up by several websites and the Daily Telegraph in the UK, and then quoted Yatchting Australias high performance director Peter Conde: "We're not ecstatic about paying the money ((A$130,000 (£75,000/year)), but it gives us the access we need for 60-odd people whenever we want it, plus storage and permission to put two containers permanently on site as our workshop. It's not cheap, but when you break it down it's not completely unreasonable because we will save on other costs." The fee charged is in fact for 60 people to use the facility per year and it is not directed just at the Australian team. Other teams have been charged the same. The British Olympic sailing team has taken the top level package offered by the sailing academy - a platinum package - that gives the team of 100 access to the marina and its facilities for £100,000 a year. The US and Italian teams have paid for the same gold package that the Australian media have been complaining about, while Canada has picked up a cheaper bronze package allowing access for its 40 sailors. Australian 470 Gold medalist Malcolm Page, who is on the International Sailing Federation's athletes commission, claimed that the Woollahra SC charged less than A$20 (£11) a day for the facilities at the Sydney games. Apparently to emphasis the disparity in costs, but not comparing like with like. The Olympic facilities were not available to teams at the Sydney Games and taking the £75,000 per year cost for the 60 team members works out at less than £3.50 per day at WPNSA. When contacted, John Tweed, Chief Executive at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, said: "This is really a non-issue. We have received a communication from the Australian Authority stating that they are happy with the contract they have with WPNSA." He went on to point out that this was the first time the actual games facilities had been made available to teams, and that the Sailing Academy has experienced very strong demand from overseas teams for the period up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the available capacity had now been exhausted. British Olympic manager Stephen Park has also pointed out that there were alternative options around the Bay and the fees were much less than those charged by China at the Beijing Olympics. * Whinging - Emotionally unable to deal with any sort of adverse condition without commenting negatively about it. Team Origin in new partnership with Jaguar at Cowes . . . Team Origin, the British America’s Cup sailing team, has signed a new partnership with Jaguar. The deal will include a summer of sailing activities, the first of which will see ‘Team Origin racing with Jaguar’ during Cowes Week at the beginning of August, when they will face current America’s Cup holders BMW Oracle in the 1851 Cup event.  As part of the deal, Team Origin will race with newly branded livery, featuring Jaguar branding on both the hull and the sails. The spinnaker will feature a Jaguar leaper in Union Jack motif, the symbol of the car company’s sports programme, the Jaguar Academy of Sports, which aims to recognise, celebrate and inspire British sporting success. “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jaguar as our partner,” said Sir Keith Mills, the founder and principal of Team Origin. “There is a superb fit and alignment of purpose between Team Origin and Jaguar. Cowes Radio celebrates 25 years at Cowes Week . . . Cowes Radio, the longest running Special Event Radio Station in the UK, is an award winning and integral part of Cowes Week and celebrates its 25th birthday during the forthcoming July 31st to August 7th 2010 regatta. Streamed on the internet around the world at http://www.cowesradio.co.uk and listened to by many thousands of competitors and spectators attending Cowes Week on 87.7fm through speakers on Cowes Parade, the Green and through personal earpieces on the boats, the reporting and programme content provides an eclectic mix of regatta highlights, interviews and entertainment. More crucial information is included for competitors, with dedicated and detailed local weather reports, tide times and the all-important race results being broadcast.  Throughout each day, a major highlight is the opportunity to listen-in to the live, on-water commentary from Dick Johnson on all the sailing action with minute-by-minute information ‘fed’ to competitors from a fully instrumented commentary boat and Simon Vigar in a privileged position on the Royal Yacht Squadron platform. 25 years ago, Dick knew only one person in radio - Steve Ancsell who hosted a weekly sailing and boating programme on the now defunct Radio Victory. Steve ‘s media company Airwaves had the expertise and equipment that enabled the first Cowes Radio in 1985. Steve controlled activities from a caravan under the Royal London Yacht Club’s flag mast. Dick stood by the RYS guns with a radio microphone transmitter and binoculars - chatting about whatever went on. Cowes Radio was born and has gone from strength to strength. A much loved part of the regatta scene – with Dick, a rusty walnut colour, a great favourite of one and all. Comments Steve: “A huge dept of gratitude is owed to all the supporters of Cowes Radio over the last 25 years: major sponsors, especially Nanny Cay, eDigital Research, Skandia of course and many, many more. Raymarine the providers of sailing instruments for the commentary boat; advertisers; the exceptionally talented and loyal reporting and back-up teams. They are the ones who make it possible for us to be on air year after year”. Wind turbine blown down at Weymouth Sailing academy . . . A Wind turbine in the Weymouth Sailing academy’s car park was levelled in the early hours of Thursday as the Portland coastline was lashed by winds of up to 55 miles per hour. No-one was injured when the turbine was brought down and no vehicles in the car park were damaged. Scottish and Southern Energy who installed the micro wind turbine at the sailing academy, have sent a team of engineers from SEC to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure the equipment is removed safely. Weymouth is Full for the Summer . . . The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) has now made contractual arrangements with a number of international teams to use the venue as a training facility and is not currently able to accommodate any other ‘non contracted’ teams to launch and recover boats from the WPNSA venue. The Sailing Academy has experienced very strong demand from overseas teams for the period up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the available capacity has now been exhausted. Regrettably, therefore, overseas teams, other than those already having entered into contracts with the Academy, when arriving at the WPNSA will not be accommodated prior to the opening of ‘Skandia Sail for Gold’ Regatta on 1st August. Other competitors who have entered for that event will be able to arrive at the site on or after 1st August, but not before. The Academy will be particularly busy during the latter half of July when major Wayfarer and Optimist Class events are scheduled. Castle Cove SC has indicated that they may still have some availability for overseas sailors, both in the period up to the 2010 ‘Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta’ and in the period up to 2012. Overseas sailors who have not made prior arrangements with the Academy or with local sailing clubs should be aware that the only access available to the waters will be via the limited public slipways in the area. New limited edition Laser problem for Race Teams . . . The latest from LaserPerformance is a new Laser with a unique finish that could prove a problem for Race Teams that have to spot the sail numbers. The finish is by regular Wallpaper contributor and designer Marian Bantjes who has produced plans for a graphically enhanced Laser. A limited number are available at £10,000 each.  Ocean-loving designer and regular Wallpaper design and style magazine contributor Marian Bantjes has produced plans for a graphically enhanced Laser®. She has delivered a stunning design that references the cubist patterns of the First and Second World War ‘dazzle’ naval camouflage. A limited edition of 12 of these works of art are available to order for £10,000, each with its own unique number discreetly moulded into the hull from LaserPerformance Europe. New J Class to compete at 2012 Solent regatta . . . The sensational new J Class yacht Lionheart has now been launched in Holland. Lionheart is based on a Ranger design (77F Model) which was tank tested in 1936 but never built. Two more yachts are currently under construction at Bloemsma, Atlantis and Rainbow, both due to complete in time for the J Class Regatta programme in England (Falmouth June 2012, the Solent July 2012).  Design work from the original hull lines was completed by Andre Hoek Naval Architects, with construction of the aluminium hull by Bloemsma Shipyard. She was then moved by barge to Claasen Jachtbouw BV for fitting out and completion with technical installations by Cornelis Jongkind Yacht Installations. She is finished below decks to a very high standard, befitting a yacht of this calibre. Above decks she features the very latest technology in sailing systems - Harken winches, Hall Spars carbon mast, spars and rigging and North sails. Following sailing trials she will leave for the Mediterranean. This is now the sixth J Class yacht on the water. Already afloat are: SHAMROCK V (1930) VELSHEDA (1933) ENDEAVOUR (1934) RANGER (replica 2002) HANUMAN (replica 2009) Draycote bring in the Professionals to control racing . . . Draycote Water Sailing Club have taken a fairly bold step for a dinghy club in the middle of England and are currently recruiting paid OD’s to ensure that all of their races are run to a very high standard. Ensuring that all aspects of club races are run to a high standard, the PRO will take overall responsibility for the quality of the racing, making life easier for the OOD teams every week. Draycote are still a sailing club, not a leisure facility, so club members will still be required to undertake the OOD duty from time to time.  Which means that those members will still benefit from the valuable experience of being involved in the race management, but without the undeniable stress of getting the course and the race length just right! This is a bold move, aimed at reaffirming Draycote Water as a centre of excellence for all types of racing, week in, week out, all year round. Draycote Water is a 650 acre reservoir set high in the rolling Warwickshire countryside, with good access from M1, M6, M45 and M40 motorways. Contact DWSC for more details of their revised racing programme of windward/leeward racing that is now run every Sunday. Full story at http://www.draycotewater.co.uk |
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